Joe Horn going to Grand jury

[jbirds1210]

Pardon me if this has already been posted. I looked and did not find it anywhere on this forum.

Jason

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?secti ... id=6155956

PASADENA, TX (KTRK) -- The case of a Pasadena homeowner who shot and killed two burglars goes to a grand jury next month.
The district attorney's office reports the case will be heard sometime in June. Horn admitted shooting two men he saw breaking into his neighbor's house back in November.
He claims he acted in self-defense when he saw the men on his lawn. But critics think Horn acted aggressively, based on comments he made to a 911 dispatcher.

[thankGod]

I saw the news on this this morning. AFAIK no charges were filed against Joe Horn. It will be interesting to see how this incident plays out.

[Liko81]

I saw the news on this this morning. AFAIK no charges were filed against Joe Horn. It will be interesting to see how this incident plays out.

If the case is going to a grand jury, the DA has presented a charge to the grand jury, for which the DA wishes the GJ to indict Horn. The accusation is not formally made until the GJ releases the indictment.

God Bless America that we have so many layers to prevent abuse of legal power, however the GJ in most cases is simply a rubber-stamp; it's the trial court the DA would be worried about, and if he doesn't think he can win there with what he has, he won't bother with the GJ whether he thinks he can get the indictment or not (because jeopardy attaches once an indictment has been made). Conversely, if he thinks he's got the evidence he needs to win at trial, convincing the GJ should be a walk in the park.

[DParker]

If the case is going to a grand jury, the DA has presented a charge to the grand jury, for which the DA wishes the GJ to indict Horn. The accusation is not formally made until the GJ releases the indictment.

You beat me to it. I was wondering what in the world the grand jury would have to do with no charges to consider. An impromptu poker game?

God Bless America that we have so many layers to prevent abuse of legal power...

Well, in theory anyway...and even sometimes in practice

, however the GJ in most cases is simply a rubber-stamp; it's the trial court the DA would be worried about, and if he doesn't think he can win there with what he has, he won't bother with the GJ whether he thinks he can get the indictment or not (because jeopardy attaches once an indictment has been made). Conversely, if he thinks he's got the evidence he needs to win at trial, convincing the GJ should be a walk in the park.

Yeah. Besides, I seem to recall an old saying about indicting a ham sandwich.....

[Crossfire]

PASADENA, TX (KTRK) -- The case of a Pasadena homeowner who shot and killed two burglars goes to a grand jury next month.
The district attorney's office reports the case will be heard sometime in June. Horn admitted shooting two men he saw breaking into his neighbor's house back in November.
He claims he acted in self-defense when he saw the men on his lawn. But critics think Horn acted aggressively, based on comments he made to a 911 dispatcher.

I really feel for this guy, and I hope he is not indicted.

But, the lesson here, boys and girls, is: BE MINDFUL OF WHAT YOU SAY WHEN YOU KNOW YOU ARE BEING RECORDED!

[thankGod]

My mistake.

I was thinking what was mentioned on the news was that the police did not file charges.

Sorry if I got that wrong.

[bpet]

Thanks for the post. I missed this little tidbit.

I was under the impression that Mr. Horn had not been charged and was in all likelihood going to walk away clean.

Going to be an interesting chain of events. I will be very interested in seeing what the DA has up his sleeve and how well it sticks.

[G.C.Montgomery]

Thanks for the post. I missed this little tidbit.

I was under the impression that Mr. Horn had not been charged and was in all likelihood going to walk away clean.

Going to be an interesting chain of events. I will be very interested in seeing what the DA has up his sleeve and how well it sticks.

We can't know how this has affected him personally but, with respect to criminal liability, he may still come out clean. I've heard from a couple different people that no one in the DA's office was in a hurry to get this case assignment. It's often said that if the prosecutor does not recommend charges that this is an indication the office feels a crime has NOT been committed.

[srothstein]

If the case is going to a grand jury, the DA has presented a charge to the grand jury, for which the DA wishes the GJ to indict Horn. The accusation is not formally made until the GJ releases the indictment.

Not always. Grand Juries also have the power to investigate. It could be presented to the grand jury further investigation, if they so desire. I believe the DA can also present a case to the GJ without a recommendation, but note that a complaint was received that alleged a crime and this is the result of the investigation. There are a lot of cases that go to GJ's to cover the DA politically. He may even recommend no indictment.

God Bless America that we have so many layers to prevent abuse of legal power, however the GJ in most cases is simply a rubber-stamp; it's the trial court the DA would be worried about, and if he doesn't think he can win there with what he has, he won't bother with the GJ whether he thinks he can get the indictment or not (because jeopardy attaches once an indictment has been made). Conversely, if he thinks he's got the evidence he needs to win at trial, convincing the GJ should be a walk in the park.

Point of order, but jeopardy does not attach until a real trial starts. A person can be indicted and have the indictment quashed and then get re-indicted (like a certain politician in an arson case recently). This would be double jeopardy if you were correct.

I do agree that many DA's (almost any good one) will not go to a grand jury if he does not think he can win in a trial. It makes no sense to indict an unwinnable case because the speedy trial act does begin then. The recent changes in the speedy trial act may make this irrelevant though.

[lawrnk]

Horn walks...nuff said

[striker55]

How does someone get on the grand jury? I'll volunteer for that one.

[DParker]

Horn walks...nuff said

If you have the ability to reliably predict the actions of grand juries and potentially trial juries then you could become quite wealthy selling your prognostication services to attornies. Call me a skeptic, but I rather doubt your alleged powers in this area. Horn may well walk (and I hope he does), but that's not nearly the slam-dunk you seem to think it is. Have you read the 911 transcripts? I'm betting that a competent DA could at least turn that into an indictment without too much of a strain.

[DoubleJ]

Yeah. Besides, I seem to recall an old saying about indicting a ham sandwich.....

watched an episode of Law & Order last night that said that. cracked me smooth up.

[tarkus]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5840087.html

Joe Horn, the Pasadena man who shot and killed two burglars after they emerged from his neighbor's home last year, regrets that decision, his attorney said today.

"Was it a mistake from a legal standpoint? No. But a mistake in his life? Yes," said Tom Lambright. "Because it's affected him terribly. And if he had it to do over again, he would stay inside.

"I don't think anybody can really appreciate the magnitude that something like this has on a person's personality."

More evidence the system is broken.

Ortiz and Torres came out of the neighbor's house with a sack containing more than $2,000 in cash and jewelry taken from the home, police said.

Both were unemployed illegal immigrants from Colombia, and Torres previously had been deported once after going to prison for selling cocaine.

[WildBill]

I do agree that many DA's (almost any good one) will not go to a grand jury if he does not think he can win in a trial. It makes no sense to indict an unwinnable case because the speedy trial act does begin then. The recent changes in the speedy trial act may make this irrelevant though.

In a complicated case, most attorneys will waive the right to a speedy trial so that they can have time to present a proper defense, or in Joe Horn's case, let the publicity die down. If the defendant does not waive the right to a speedy trial, the DA may eventually be compelled to dismiss the charges. However, this doesn't mean the defendant is off the hook.

After the original charges are dismissed, the defendant may be re-charged and arrested again, resetting the "speedy trial" clock. This may seem to be double jeopardy, but it isn't.